Mr. Thornberry (for
himself and Mr. Smith of Washington)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign
Affairs

A BILL

To amend the United States Information and Educational
Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and
material about the United States intended primarily for foreign audiences, and
for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of
2012.

2.

Dissemination
abroad of information about the United States

(a)

United States
Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948

Section 501 of the United States
Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) is amended to
read as follows:

501.

General authorization

(a)

The Secretary and the
Broadcasting Board of Governors are authorized to use funds appropriated or
otherwise made available for public diplomacy information programs to provide
for the preparation, dissemination, and use of information intended for foreign
audiences abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies, through
press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other
information media, including social media, and through information centers,
instructors, and other direct or indirect means of communication.

(b)(1)

Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors may, upon request and
reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request,
make available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, and
other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad
pursuant to this Act, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994
(22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et
seq.), or the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.).
The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall issue necessary
regulations—

(A)

to establish procedures to maintain
such material;

(B)

for reimbursement of the reasonable
costs incurred in fulfilling requests for such material; and

(C)

to ensure that the persons seeking
release of such material have secured and paid for necessary United States
rights and licenses.

(2)

With respect to material prepared for
dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad before the effective date of the
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012—

(A)

the Secretary and the Broadcasting
Board of Governors shall make available to the Archivist of the United States,
for domestic distribution, motion pictures, films, videotapes, and other
material 12 years after the initial dissemination of the material abroad;
and

(B)

the Archivist shall be the official
custodian of the material and shall issue necessary regulations to ensure that
persons seeking its release in the United States have secured and paid for
necessary United States rights and licenses and that all costs associated with
the provision of the material by the Archivist shall be paid by the persons
seeking its release, in accordance with paragraph (3).

(3)

The Archivist may charge fees to
recover the costs described in paragraph (2), in accordance with section
2116(c) of title 44. Such fees shall be paid into, administered, and expended
as part of the National Archives Trust Fund.

(c)

Nothing in this
section may be construed to require the Secretary or the Broadcasting Board of
Governors to make material disseminated abroad available in any format other
than in the format disseminated
abroad.

.

(b)

Rule of
construction

Nothing in this section may be construed to affect
the allocation of funds appropriated or otherwise made specifically available
for public diplomacy.

(c)

Foreign
Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987

Section
208 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 (22
U.S.C. 1461–1a) is amended to read as follows:

208.

Clarification
on domestic distribution of program material

(a)

In
general

No funds authorized
to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of
Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States. This
section shall apply only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States
Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the
United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.),
the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), and the Television
Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). This section shall not
prohibit or delay the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of
Governors from providing information about its operations, policies, programs,
or program material, or making such available, to the media, public, or
Congress, in accordance with other applicable law.

(b)

Rule of
construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from
engaging in any medium or form of communication, either directly or indirectly,
because a United States domestic audience is or may be thereby exposed to
program material, or based on a presumption of such exposure. Such material may
be made available within the United States and disseminated, when appropriate,
pursuant to sections 502 and 1005 of the United States Information and
Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1462 and 1437), except that nothing
in this section may be construed to authorize the Department of State or the
Broadcasting Board of Governors to disseminate within the United States any
program material prepared for dissemination abroad on or before the effective
date of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.

(c)

Application

The
provisions of this section shall apply only to the Department of State and the
Broadcasting Board of Governors and to no other department or agency of the
Federal
Government.

.

(d)

Conforming
amendments

The United States Information and Educational Exchange
Act of 1948 is amended—

(1)

in section 502 (22
U.S.C. 1462)—

(A)

by inserting
and the Broadcasting Board of Governors after
Secretary; and

(B)

by inserting
or the Broadcasting Board of Governors after
Department; and

(2)

in section 1005
(22 U.S.C. 1437), by inserting and the Broadcasting Board of
Governors after Secretary each place it appears.

(e)

Effective
date

This Act shall take effect and apply on the date that is 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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